ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Cancer Marker

Updated on August 22, 2016
elayne001 profile image

Ruth, aka Elayne Kongaika, was raised in the orchard town of Orem, UT. She married a Polynesian boy and has had amazing travel experiences.

Lung Cancer
Lung Cancer

There, I said it - the big C word. No one wants to hear it. You may have a family member who has it, be a survivor yourself, or know someone who has died from it.

Since I have PBC (primary biliary cirrhosis) I am concerned about liver cancer. I have blood tests every so many months to keep an eye on my liver enzyme levels. There is a high incidence of liver cancer resulting from individuals who have had liver cirrhosis.

You may have been curious how doctors can tell what stage of cancer a person has.

Alpha-fetoprotein or AFP is a type of tumor marker which is used to diagnose cancer. These markers are used to determine which stage of cancer a patient has. Tumor markers are substances (mostly proteins) that are produced by the body or by the tumor itself in response to cancer.

A high reading of certain proteins in a urine or blood sample may indicate a more aggressive cancer. Usually, the higher the resulting number of the marker, the higher the stage of cancer.

Cancer cells

They may look pretty, but they are deadly cancer cells
They may look pretty, but they are deadly cancer cells


Where symptoms suggest cancer in a patient, urine and blood samples are taken and submitted to a laboratory to be tested for cancer tumor marker levels.

The results assist the physician in determining if a patient has cancer. They can also help diagnose the type of cancer the patient has.

Cancer markers also are useful in determining the prognosis for the patient. They are also used to check to see if cancer has returned after remission.

A biopsy is taken once a diagnosis of cancer has been made, and again tumor markers can help to determine the amount of cancer that is present in the patient's body.

Advanced cancer is indicated by higher tumor marker levels and the prognosis is less positive.

With the help of cancer markers, a doctor can then determine the best treatment for the patient.

Types of Tumor Markers

Some of the most common tumor markers (AFP) are used for diagnosing the following cancers:

  • Liver
  • Ovarian
  • Breast
  • Gastrointestinal
  • Pancreatic
  • Lung
  • Colon
  • Prostate

Cancer research is ongoing in hopes to discover tumor markers for other types of cancers.

Not just one tumor marker is used for all cancers, and not all cancers have tumor markers that work specifically for their diagnosis and treatment.

Once cancer treatment has been started by a patient, they will need to have further testing with tumor markers to see if their particular treatment is working.

If the tumor marker level declines, it usually is an indication that the current treatment is working.

If the level increases or stays the same, the physician may try a different form of treatment.

It is important that a certain amount of time has passed between cancer marker testing to give the treatment a chance to work on the tumor.

Drawbacks of Tumor Markers

There are only a few cancer tumor markers that are able to find cancer in the early stages. In fact, there are certain noncancerous diseases which may contribute to a high tumor marker level.

On occasion, cancer tumor marker levels may not be elevated in a person who really has cancer. It is important that all tests are taken into consideration, including a complete physical examination, history of the patient, other laboratory tests and scans.

Another drawback of testing with tumor markers is that sometimes you get a false positive. There are a few factors that might contribute to an inaccurate lab test. Certain medications can alter the results of blood and urine tests, including Vitamin C, Naproxen Sodium or Tylenol. Some antibiotics can also affect the tests.

False positives rates for tumor marker tests are usually 5 per cent. For other false positives or false negatives and their causes go to this link.

Personally, I have lost a boss to cancer from smoking. It was not lung, but nose cancer. He was way too young to die, and was a very kind man. He was a chain smoker.

I am glad that research continues on cancer markers to help in detecting cancer cells early on so a person has a better chance of surviving.

If you have peculiar symptoms, breast changes, weight loss, unusual bleeding, unexplained fatigue, gnawing pain, indigestion, changes in lymph nodes, depression, or persistent cough or sore that will not heal, go to see your doctor. It is better to be tested early rather than wait until it is too late to treat it.


Sorry, this is such a serious topic, I thought I would lighten it up.
Sorry, this is such a serious topic, I thought I would lighten it up.

Interesting Fact



Tumor marker testing is also used for screening a healthy or a high- risk population for cancer.



working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)